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The nation is suddenly at a crossroads. A new dictatorial Nigeria is about to emerge. Many observers would be alarmed at this assertion. But that is understandable. Many think dictatorship or political dominance is planned with the inevitability of a great Soyinka tragedy. It is not. What history teaches is that, too often, dictatorships happen not by studied design but by the default of onlookers or third parties. And this default comes through the uncritical inattention of these third parties. That is, innocent peoples like me and you.
In other words, would-be dictators start their gambit by posturing, by disguise. They first come upon us as angels or in masks of saviors. Their plans work only if the rest of us self-seduce ourselves that theatre is suddenly reality. So, national enslavement comes not so much through the genius of the actors, the winnable dictators. It comes as a default of third parties, the others in the play.
Adams Oshiomhole! You remember him? He is about to hoist a dictatorship of himself and a few coteries in the names of party and President Muhammadu Buhari on Nigeria. If we don’t abort his insidious plans, we will pay the price with our own enslavement. Now is the hour to act.
The details are as follows. In the name of the party, Oshiomhole has falsely decreed that the APC senators are under decree to elect a certain Ahmad Lawan as the President of the Senate. The truth, however, is that Oshiomhole is speaking entirely on the behalf of himself and the “cabalists” that are driving him.
There are no records the party ever met and anointed the said Lawan or the throwaway Femi Gbajabiamila for the Speaker of the House. This much has been confirmed by several other parties. Below is a typical take, confirming that APC never met as a party on the said matter:
“Are you saying that you were not briefed before the open announcement? I am surprised that the decision was taken and we were not given the chance to even ask questions or make comments. The President was called upon to make his remarks and after that we recited the National Anthem. Even the chosen candidate was not given the chance to thank us or to say something about it. Those of us that are interested in contesting the position were not even consulted. I left the venue in shock.’’ (https://punchng.com/partys-decision-to-settle-for-lawan-shocked-surprised-me-ali-ndume)
To thicken the plot is Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. At least, the following was reported: “Support Lawan, Gbaja or leave, Tinubu tells APC lawmakers. Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says party discipline would be upheld in addressing the leadership tussle of the 9th National Assembly.
… Tinubu said the party’s choice must be respected and whoever is against such should leave … The party already endorsed Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as their preferred candidates for Senate President and Speaker, respectively” … “You have seen the result of it and we are not going to allow that to happen again. We are going to respect our party and we are going to apply the whip. “It is either you stay with us or you follow us or you leave.” (https://www.thecable.ng/support-lawan-gbaja-or-leave-tinubu-tells-apc-lawmakers)
However Tinubu’s diktat goes, here is a trending “character sketch” of him:
“Tinubu may be a pillar of the APC, but he is not a pillar of democracy; he does not believe in ‘one man, one vote,’ but ‘one man (Tinubu), all votes.’ Indeed, apart from his riches, he is best known for having grounded the advancement of democracy in Lagos.
“During the recent elections, Tinubu bragged about his riches, declaring that he was richer than Osun State. This ‘pillar of democracy’ then unveiled himself also as being better than a bank: an individual needing to move cash around in bullion vans.” (https://punchng.com/the-one-change-nigeria-needs)
So, it is obvious it is the arcane Tinubu political module, of personal overlordship, that Oshiomhole, Tinubu and other cabalists are about to instal nationally, and under their control. In other words, all “substantive” national democratic powers and resources, including votes, will be vested de facto in one man, Oshiomhole, and his political cabalists. This cabal will now be engineering things and propping up whoever should or should not be elected Nigerian leaders, nationally. And like with Lagos, these cabalists and their nominees will forever win elections, however the citizens vote. In all, it is wise to put it on record that these Oshiomhole cabalists are masked as acting on behalf of party and presidency.
To repeat, this is a threat to the nation and not just to APC senators. Interestingly, all through the world, there are no records of a democratic party adopting one golden pair of persons at the cost of dissenters losing membership.
What happens in a democratic order is that parties are by lore made up of several caucuses. (A unitary, that is, non-caucused party, does not exist in reality or history). It is just that dominant intra-party caucuses fix their preferred candidates and woo other caucuses for support.
And the standard model of fixing an all-party candidate is by intra-parties primaries. It cannot be by a party faction, no matter how dominant. A part, however how dominant, is not the whole party. Thus, it is only when a given candidate has emerged through inter-caucuses primary that the party [and not a caucus of the party however dominant] has a candidate. It is only then that a party can speak in its name. Any other thing is partisanship, is incipient dictatorship. And that is what Oshiomhole is gaming for.
As to expelling those who will vote after their own caucus, one is at a loss. Are these men sorcerers? How would they know or not know who voted for or against whom? Is it not by secret ballot?
Whatever happens, APC senators must act appropriately to the momentous history that calls upon them. They must reject on the behalf of the nation the plot by a faction of APC to give directions in the name of the whole party and after their own partisan purpose. If they ever allow that, then they have allowed their own enslavement, as in a slow motion movie. And ours too.
We warn, hidden behind the Oshiomhole plot is a scheme to seize the nation as a private estate of the cabal. It is to jagabanize the whole of Nigeria in their hands. Tufiakwa.
